Following Saturday’s Orange and White game, head coach Josh Heupel took to the podium to address the elephant in the room.
The quarterback situation dawned in the morning hours of April 12, announcing a separation between Tennessee football and signal-caller Nico Iamaleava. The two sides are moving forward on separate paths, with the expectation that Iamaleava enters the spring transfer portal on Wednesday, April 16.
“Today’s landscape of college football is different than what it has been unfortunate just the situation and where we’re at with Nico,” Heupel said. “I want to thank him for everything that he’s done since he’s gotten here as a recruit, to who he was as a player and how he competed inside of the building, and so a great appreciation for that side of it.”
On Saturday morning, Heupel addressed the situation with his team during morning meetings. It came after NIL disputes during the week in which Iamaleava skipped team practice on Friday, April 11.
Iamaleava was a one-year starter for the Vols. In his lone season with Tennessee, the California native led the Vols to a 10-3 record and the program’s first College Football Playoff Appearance.
“Obviously, we’re moving forward as a program without him,” Heupel said. “I said it to the guys today, there’s no one that’s that’s bigger than the Power T, that includes me, and they hear me say that a lot inside of that team room, this program has been around for a long time with a lot of great coaches, a lot of great players that came before that laid the cornerstone pieces, the legacy, the tradition that is Tennessee football. It’s going to be around a long time after I’m done and after they’re gone. And that’s what’s special about being here is that there is a legacy and a tradition that is so rich, and a logo that’s recognized not just across the nation, but across the world too.”
During his redshirt freshman campaign, he threw for 19 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He threw for 2,619 yards and ran for an additional 358 yards on the ground with a trio of touchdowns.
“Today you got a chance to see 110 guys that ran out and competed their butts off, that give their all for Tennessee and do it the right way, and really proud of of the spring that they’ve had, but also, you know how they culminated it as well.”
As spring practices come to an end, the team will be moving on without its presumed starter. That begins with the conclusion of the Orange and White game.
“We’re moving forward from today to this program is ready to go win next fall as a program, since we’ve been here. We’ve won with a lot of different QBs, done it historically in my career with a lot of different QBs, some of those guys have been older, so we’ve been younger, but we’ll have a quarterback that’s ready to go in and help us compete for a championship.”
Heupel said the decision was made on Friday morning when Iamaleava was a no-show for practice.
“If it’s going to happen, rip the band-aid too,” Heupel said. “At the end of the day, we got a lot of great work for the two guys that are here, and we got a chance to move forward as a program. So it’s unfortunate, just in the landscape of college football that this happens at this point.”
With only two quarterbacks on the roster, the spring portal could be a point of emphasis for Heupel and company.
“With only two scholarship players at the quarterback position, we’re going to have to find another guy,” Heupel said.
